


Answer Pending

by trainmaker



Series: theatre kids au [2]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Kisses, M/M, Pining, Prom, Ranboo POV, Shotgunning, Smoking, Theatre
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-19 01:53:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29743188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trainmaker/pseuds/trainmaker
Summary: after an impulsive kiss, ranboo wonders if tubbo really likes him, or if he's just imagining it.also Prom happens
Relationships: Ranboo/Toby Smith | Tubbo
Series: theatre kids au [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2186049
Comments: 29
Kudos: 344





	Answer Pending

Ranboo wondered if Tubbo thought about him half as much as _he_ thought about him. It was a day-dream, wishful-thinking, rom-com, impossible thought though because if Tubbo _did_ think about him, he wouldn't spend nearly so much time ignoring him. It had been months since that night in October, months of yearning and sleepless nights spent chasing the feeling through a high that just didn't feel the same. Every time he lit up at the side-door, he wondered if this would be the time, if Tubbo would come, find him here, finally.

And maybe he understood it, a little. Tubbo was the lead in the Spring musical, he was busy. More than that, he was better than this. For him, it had been a rum-fueled chance. Ranboo remembered the taste of it on his lips. How was he to know that it meant more to him? So he folded his heart and tucked it away. He moved set pieces to their spikes, he lingered around the mic-cart, he painted backdrops. 

"I like that green." 

Ranboo lifted his brush from the canvas, startling. Tubbo was bent at the waist, peering down at the backdrop stretched across the floor. He had that smile, face-splitting and earnest. 

"It's going to be a bush. Just a bush." He replied.

"If you're doing it, it's more than just a bush." Tubbo dropped down beside him and squinted at the sketch. Ranboo wondered what he'd done to deserve this. It was like the whole sun turning on him, bright and unabashed. It wasn't the first time they'd talked since, but it had always been in passing.

"Oh, well. Thanks." Ranboo said intelligently.

Tubbo pointed a finger at his face. "You've got some green right on your nose."

Ranboo's face felt hot and he swiped a thumb across the spot quickly. "That's embarrassing."

"It's all over." Tubbo snickered. Ranboo had a very low tolerance for Tubbo's laugh. It brought out the most pathetic smile in him. Techno, head techie, had called him on it more than once. 

"I'll just...leave it 'till later." He dipped his brush back into the paint, ready to internalize the conversation for the next four hours and/or eternity.

"Mm, I'll get it." And then Tubbo hopped up. When he returned, it was with a Taco Bell napkin and a water-bottle. He wet the napkin and wiped it quickly over Ranboo's nose. It was shockingly cold, but Ranboo felt warm all over.

"Thanks." Ranboo croaked.

\--

Ranboo saw the prom posters go up during a morning rehearsal. Techno was decidedly hungover and nursing a coffee, and the entire crew had been relegated to storage management. He'd had but a glimpse of the sparkly paper before they all piled into the auditorium's cob-webbed storage room. Moth-eaten, upholstered armchairs and paper-maché palm-trees mingled among each other, all covered in a fine layer of dust. 

Prom season was when everyone found out if they were the main characters in their high-school love story or part of the motley collection of background characters. Ranboo knew he didn't even make the ensemble. There was a reason he liked being a techie. He mulled this over as he pretended to weigh the worth of a styrofoam zebra leg from freshman year's production of Lion King. He'd probably volunteer to help with the lights or AV club, that way he could still go without embarrassing himself. 

When they'd filled the dumpster out the side-door with decrepit set pieces, Ranboo lingered outside. He didn't light a joint, though his fingers itched for something to fiddle with. There was still a day's worth of school. The morning sunlight was a dish-water gray, turning the whole parking lot into an indecipherable expanse. The days had just started getting longer again, Spring making itself known. All he could think about was October though, sweet, smokey October. 

The side-door clanged open and he startled. Speak of the devil and all that. Tubbo blinked down at him. "I was wondering why the door-jam was still in. First bell's gonna ring soon."

"I know." Ranboo kicked a pebble off the steps. "I'll be in, just needed a minute."

Tubbo nodded and stepped down to stand beside him. He barely came up to Ranboo's shoulder. "They put the prom posters up this morning."

"Mhm. Are you gonna go?"

Tubbo perked up a little. Ranboo wondered if he already knew who he was going to ask. "Yeah!" He looked up, eyebrows raised as if to prompt him.

"Cool. Cool. I'm sure you'll have fun."

Tubbo let out a puff of air and turned back to face the door. "Yeah. I'm sure I will." 

"Bell's probably going off, you go ahead. I'll come soon." Ranboo fumbled for his lighter. "Just, y'know,"

Tubbo closed the door after him, careful of the door-jam. Ranboo tried to remember what smoke tasted like before him.

\--

They were nearing the final week of rehearsals. Tubbo's eyes looked lined with worry, and Ranboo could tell he wasn't sleeping well either; his hair was a mess, cow-licks in all directions. Ranboo was haunting the mic-cart as he usually did when he was idle. It had the best view of the stage, and Wilbur always needed a little help trading off the mics for the chorus at the end of the first act. 

Ranboo watched as Tubbo rushed breathlessly off stage after his scene, shining with the barest exertion. "It's got all twisted at the back. The wire's messed on my belt." His eyebrows were drawn up in worry as Wilbur examined him.

"Ranboo, you deal with it. I have to change batteries."

He knew better than to object, but battery changes were usually the kind of lowly task he was given. He pressed his lips together and met Tubbo's eyes. "Um. Can you turn around?"

Tubbo did as he was told and Ranboo evaluated the mess, The mic wire was up under his shirt and wrapped tightly around his belt. "Can you just lift it up a little so I can-"

"Yeah, yeah. Of course." The words were rushed. Ranboo felt his stomach do a somersault as his fingers brushed the bare-skin of Tubbo's back. He had a constellation of moles at the base of his spine. God.

"So, prom, did you decide if you're going?" Tubbo asked as Ranboo worked. His fingers stilled for a second before he continued, trying to take it in stride.

"No. I mean, no, I haven't decided."

"So you haven't asked anybody?"

"No." Ranboo frowned. He'd never known Tubbo to be mean-spirited, but it seemed a little off-colour to tease him during a rehearsal. He reattached the wire to the mic-pack at Tubbo's belt and smoothed his shirt back down. "You?"

"No," Tubbo replied, turning around. He pushed his brown hair out of his eyes and Ranboo thought the world was very unfair sometimes.

"Not even Tommy?" The two were attached at the hip, and though they'd never been involved to his knowledge, it seemed the obvious choice.

"We're each other's back-up plans. If nobody asks me, Tommy says he'll take me. As friends." Tubbo tacked the last part on quickly then glanced back at the stage. "I've gotta get back on. Thanks."

"Yes." Ranboo reached for a fresh battery pack and failed three times to unhook it.

Wilbur had the decency to wait for Tubbo to leave to laugh at him.

\--

The Spring show went off without a hitch. Tubbo glowed under the stage-lights and at intermission, he took the water-bottle Ranboo offered him with a grin. Ranboo watched the line of his throat as he drank and took one for himself, pressing the cool bottle against his cheek. Ranboo wondered if now was the time he could ask. If Tubbo could clarify if he'd just been entirely oblivious or if he was reading one too many sappy Reddit posts. Had Tubbo meant to-

Tubbo reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze. "Thanks. There's a reason you're my favourite techie." He whispered, and then he was gone, fraternizing with the cast and the stage director.

Ranboo lost whatever words he'd been trying to get out and stared at his hand blankly. Somehow the touch mattered more than the kiss in October. It was so casual as if Tubbo didn't know he was turning Ranboo's world on its head. He probably didn't.

\--

He didn't end up asking him. Or following up. Or confessing that he spent every smoke-break wondering if Tubbo was going to come and ask him for a taste. After the Spring show, they didn't have much occasion to see each other. Tubbo smiled at him in the hall-way sometimes and he returned it. Techno asked him if his face was alright or if he was having a stroke. He half-wished it was the latter. 

AV club put out a sign-up for sound techs and he signed up. They waived his prom ticket fee and his mom made him buy a suit. It was the tiniest bit too short in the ankle, but he didn't mind. He carpooled with Techno and Techno's friend from the neighbouring school, Phil. He was broad and blond and Ranboo was reminded of a Viking. They snuck off into the gym upon arrival and Ranboo went looking for the AV station. Wilbur was there, hand closed around a clear-plastic cocktail glass and swaying slightly. He was sternly instructing an underclassman on how to fade songs in and out.

"How're you doing?" Ranboo asked, trying to make sense of the track-list pulled up on Wilbur's laptop. He wondered if the school couldn't afford a DJ or if Wilbur had scared them into hiring him. 

"Fine. Fundy's trying to fade mxmtoon into Ke$ha. Can you tell him it's a bad idea?"

"It's a terrible idea." Ranboo snorted.

"Anyways, we're good here for a while. Why don't you go have fun?" Wilbur sipped the suspicious liquid in his cup.

It was a harmless suggestion, but when Ranboo stared out at the crowd of his classmates, he cringed. Techno and Phil were on the side-lines tossing glittery decorations at people's heads. At the very centre, Tommy was head-banging wildly, bumping into everyone. Beside him, Tubbo bopped up and down. The lights cast purple shadows over them all and Ranboo thought he looked lovely. He wondered how much time he'd spent watching Tubbo from the sidelines this year. Too much.

He pulled his lighter out of his pocket and raised it at Wilbur. "I'm just gonna, y'know."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll pass on the message."

Ranboo furrowed his brow and nodded. Pass it on to the next AV club member on duty? He shouldered through the crowd for the second time and towards the Auditorium's side door. The door-jam was there and Ranboo wondered if it was even worth it to put it in. Would he want to go back at all? He sighed and stuck it in despite his wallowing. It would get cold anyway. 

He pulled out an altoid tin from his suit jacket and plucked a joint from the case. Minutes bled by in smoke and the distant sound of music. It was like prom through a filter, distilled. He took a deep drag and watched the moon crest the tree-line. 

"You know, we have to stop meeting like this." Tubbo's voice broke the silence and Ranboo couldn't find it in himself to be surprised. He tapped some ash off the end and glanced up at him. Tubbo's suit was dark, like the rich emerald color of a beetle shell. Ranboo licked his lips.

"Don't mess up the d-"

"The door-jam. I know." Tubbo skipped down the last stairs to sit beside him. Their shoulders brushed, the slide of Tubbo's jacket against the sleeve of his shirt. His own jacket drooped over the railing, discarded. 

"Can I ask something?" Tubbo asked quietly after a moment.

"Shoot."

"Why didn't you ask me?"

Ranboo's heart, folded and tucked away, fluttered. "What?"

"I mean, did I do something wrong? Was there someone else you-"

Ranboo stared at Tubbo with wide eyes, joint hanging from his fingers limply. "No! No, god. Nobody else." He tentatively took Tubbo's hand in his own. "I just," He caught his breath. "Why didn't you ask _me_?" A little frustration crept into his voice.

"Well, 'cause. 'Cause!" Tubbo exclaimed. "Tommy said you'd have to be stupid not to ask me."

"Oh, well, sorry I couldn't just waltz up to the guy I've liked since sophomore year and a-"

"Sophomore year? You weren't even in theatre until junior!"

"Why do you think I joined?"

"Oh." Tubbo's eyes widened.

"And then you go and kiss me after the Fall show and spend the rest of-"

"You kissed _me!_ " Tubbo protested.

"Whatever! All I'm saying is this whole thing has been very confusing." Ranboo sighed. Tubbo's thumb traced thoughtfully over his knuckles.

"Well, we're here now." He said slowly. He cocked his head, listening. The steady rhythm of a slow song ebbed through the closed door. Ranboo took a thoughtful drag, blowing smoke into the night. Nobody else was here, it was theirs alone. Just like that night in October. 

"Gimme some." Tubbo huffed. Ranboo held the joint out and Tubbo took it. His cheeks hollowed as he inhaled and Ranboo grinned. It was practised. He wondered briefly who he'd practised with, if he should be jealous, but then Tubbo was leaning in. Ranboo closed his eyes and let Tubbo exhale smoke into his mouth, soft, sweet and familiar.

"S'good?" Tubbo asked, eyes half-lidded. Ranboo took the joint and stubbed it out quickly.

"Yeah." Ranboo stood and extended a hand, pulling Tubbo up. He led them down the stairs and brought Tubbo close to his chest. One arm wound around his waist and the other carded through his soft, messy hair. "Can you still hear the music?"

"A little." Tubbo pressed his cheek against his shoulder and rocked back and forth. It was a dumb, romantic excuse to hold him, Ranboo thought, but he couldn't fault himself. "Y'know, I don't mind in the end." He breathed. "I like this better than all that."

Ranboo hummed in agreement. He tangled his fingers in Tubbo's hair and tilted his head back until their eyes met. Tubbo's were clear and blue in the moonlight. Glowing nearly. "Can I kiss you?"

"You never had to ask before," Tubbo laughed and tip-toed up to meet his lips. It was hard to kiss someone when you were smiling, Ranboo thought, but he didn't really mind.

**Author's Note:**

> and they lived happily ever after
> 
> send me your kudos, comments etc, they make me happy :) and i love discussing ideas and requests.
> 
> was there a part you liked best??? :0


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